


In Plain Sight

by GoodJanet



Category: Actor RPF
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Fights, Homophobic Language, Hurt No Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 03:57:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4989319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodJanet/pseuds/GoodJanet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank thinks he knows just the right girl for him and Dean to share. They end up sharing too much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Plain Sight

April was a truly beautiful girl. A real lady, too. On the other side of her, Frank watches Dean’s large hand come to rest on her soft shoulder in the spot that her purple strap had once occupied.

“So what do you say, honey? You wanna stay here with us?”

Dean murmurs it low against the edge of her jaw, fingers trailing up and down her arm. He watches in fascination as goosebumps erupt on her skin, disappearing up under the sleeve of her black satin glove.

“Well…”

Frank picks up her free hand and pinches the pieces of fabric at the end of each finger, tugging gently until her hand is bare. He delicately kisses each finger and the center of her palm, wondering if his tenderness and Dean’s warmth will be enough to keep her here in the middle. Dean leans in to kiss the side of her neck just as Frank kisses the inside of her wrist. She lets out a tiny gasp, and both men smile.

“Very smooth, fellas,” she breathes, crooking both her arms in an effort to pull them in closer to her cherry red mouth.

Oh, she knew she was getting into something bad when it was Frank on the other line, but she stayed on to talk with him, managed to keep her cool, and agreed to meet for drinks with the two of them.

_ “Trust me, honey. He’s good guy. Honest.” _

_ “They’re all ‘good guys’ to you, Frank. How about I call Alice? You know, for a double date.” _

_ Frank sighs into the receiver. This was different. He had to make her see that. _

_ “Can I be frank with you, sweetheart?” _

_ “Who else would you rather be?” she teases.” _

_ Good, that’s good. Keep her laughing. Keep her interested. _

_ “Well, here goes. Dean told me in confidence one day that wants to share a pretty girl with me, and I said I might know a gal who’d be game.” _

_ “I don’t even know him, Frank.” _

_ At least she wasn’t saying no. All he needed to do was get the three of them in the same room together. Dean would be able to do the rest on his own. Everyone eventually fell a little bit in love with him, and April would be no different. _

_ “Come have cocktails with us. You don’t have to commit to anything now. But at least meet Dean before you turn him down. The guy never asks for anything.” _

_ “Okay,” she concedes. “Just tell me when and where.” _

“Maybe I’ll stay for a little while,” she murmurs into Frank’s cheek.

She feels Dean’s warm lips against her shoulder before she feels him smile against her skin.

“Glad to hear it, honey. Me and Frankie, we’ll make it worth your while, won’t we, pal?”

“Of course, Dino. Nothin’ but the best for our kitten.”

April pulls back and sees Frank smile that mischievous smile of his. The one that said he was up to no good. It was a sight she was used to seeing on his handsome face, always trying and succeeding to get the best of her. It was their routine. A delicate balance of teasing for sport and teasing for pleasure.

So it was funny to see Dean look at her in completely different way. It was as if he really, truly felt lucky and excited to be there with her. April’s read the magazines and seen the headlines of Dean “caught” with a chorus girl or “discovered” chatting up starlets; he was no stranger to the affections of women. So why did tonight feel so different? What made _her_ so different?

Surely any of their adoring fans would be willing to spend the night with two of the biggest celebs of the century. She liked to have fun as much as the next girl, and maybe that meant she was “fast,” but there was no destructive path in her wake, no broken hearts or tear stained letters. No one got hurt.

Maybe that was the reason Frank phoned her. Maybe Frank thought the debonair Dean Martin needed someone safe, someone who wouldn’t hurt him or take advantage of his kind and gentle nature.

_ Maybe _ , she thinks as Dean unzips the back of her dress, _Frank was seeking a version of himself for Dean that was more buttons and bows than tuxes and ties._

“Maybe we should retire to the bedroom?” she asks before Frank can get to her lips again.

“Sure, baby doll. We can get nice and cozy on that there bed.”

They stand, and Frank offers her his arm.

“Anything the lady wants,” Frank says.

Dean walks ahead of them, already kicking off his shoes and working his shirt’s buttons out of their holes. April stops to watch him, admiring him as more and more of his rich, olive skin his revealed. She turns to ask Frank a question and finds he’s staring at Dean too.

“Are those rumors true?” she asks, thinking about those chorus girls and starlets.

Frank quickly turns on her, eyes dark and mouth set. His hands come up and grip her shoulders tightly. Her eyes go wide.

“What rumors?”

Dean stops undressing and looks back at them. Frank looks like he’s about to belt her one, so he immediately makes his way between them, prying Frank’s hands loose.

“Ay, what’s going on here? Get your hands off her, Frank. Come on, baby, talk to me.”

Frank lets go and steps away, but otherwise ignores him.

“What rumors?” he asks again.

April swallows.

“The ones I read in the paper. That Dean made love to a girl inside a baby grand. And you know, all those other stories with those girls. Stories about what he’s like to be with. That’s all,” she answers, shaken.

“Frankie, leave this poor girl alone. We were having such a nice time, and now it’s all spoiled.”

April quickly exits the room, desperately needing a cigarette and unable to face Frank quite yet. She’s seen him angry plenty of times. He’s well-known for his tempers, but he’d never grabbed her before. He’d never frightened her like that either. She takes a long drag. She wonders what rumor had him so rattled.

When April leaves the bedroom, Frank slams the door shut.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” Dean asks impatiently. “It was going great!”

“She said she’s heard rumors, Dean.”

Dean rolls his eyes.

“Those rags have rumors about us every day. They said I had a fling in Cabo last week, even though you know I was here with you because we went golfing together. You can’t take that trash seriously.”

“Well, what about when the rumors start up about you and me? April’s talking about rumors, so what’s to say she’s not going to spread a few of her own?”

Dean stares at him incredulously.

“Frankie, she’s _your_ girl. If you think she’s got a big mouth, then why are we here?”

Frank shakes his head. Dean’s right. He is. But if he’s right, then why does it feel like his stomach’s bottomed out?

“Come on, pal. A rumor about you and me? Who’d believe it, anyway?”

Dean walks over to where Frank is pacing. He leans in to kiss Frank and make it all better, but Frank swats him away. Dean thinks he’d rather have Frank punch him in the gut. It would probably hurt less.

“Frank?”

“I can’t have people thinking I’m a queer, Dino! Is that what you want? You want people to think you’re my fruity little side dish?”

Dean swallows. Is that really what Frank thought of him? This whole time?

Dean feels tears prick the back of his eyes and goes about collecting his shoes and bowtie to keep them from showing. He quickly does up his buttons, unable to even face his so-called friend.

Frank catches a look at his face as he strides towards the closed door and sees the wetness that refuses to fall.

“Dean, wait.”

Dean walks over to April before exiting the suite.

“Sorry this didn’t work out, sweetheart. There’s been a change of plans. I hope you understand.”

April pretends to be too polite to notice the devastated look on his handsome face.

“Oh, of course. It was lovely meeting you.”

She glances sideways at Frank. Dean kisses her cheek and leaves the suite as if there was fire licking at his heels. She spins towards Frank, flabbergasted at just how quickly the night had shifted.

“Frank, I don’t understand…”

He turns his gaze from the closed door back to her.

“It’s over now, kid. It’s all over.”

April is pretty sure he doesn’t just mean their evening.


End file.
